Wang Xijue, Wang Jiaping and a group of more than a dozen officials, escorted by a team of soldiers, set off from the capital, Xiaoxing overnight, rain and rain, and finally entered the boundary of Runing Mansion on this day.

"Report to the two adults, we have entered Runing Mansion, which belongs to the boundary of Xiping County, in front of Xiping Station, and then on Cai Yi, and then Ruyang Station, where are we staying tonight, please show the two adults." Gan Hong, the small leader of the guards, ran to Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping's official sedan chair and asked for instructions.

"Oh, you've already arrived at Runing Mansion?" Wang Xijue opened the sedan curtain and looked out, and when he saw Wang Jiaping also poking his head out, he said with a smile: "Uncle Zhong, you and I get off the sedan chair and take a walk, how about it?" ”

Wang Jiaping nodded and said, "I also have this intention, so let's get off the sedan chair and walk together." ”

When the palanquin drivers on both sides heard this, they hurriedly put down the sedan chair, and they had already stepped forward to help the two officials down. Wu Boxing and others were also sitting on the sedan chair, and when they saw that the scholars had all gotten off the sedan chair, they also followed one by one and walked down from the sedan chair.

"What a scene of spring ploughing!"

Wang Xijue walked a few steps along the official road, pointed to some farmers who were plowing the land not far away, and said to Wang Jiaping with a smile.

Wang Jiaping nodded and said: "Yes, yes, in the past few years in the capital, this kind of farming scene has been rare. Fu Yu, when I was a child, I also farmed at home, if I didn't come out to be an official, I would be a good farmer. ”

"Yes, if you don't know agriculture, how can you govern the country and the country?" Wang Xijue also said with emotion.

The two scholars were pointing and pointing, and the petty officials below were also doing the same, shaking their heads and talking about farming. Wu Boxing looked left and right, looked at it for a while, and frowned slightly.

"Does Wu Shilang think there's anything wrong?" Cheng Dong stepped forward and asked Wu Boxing. He is a newly appointed seven-rank official. The qualifications are very shallow, and he is just an errand boy in the investigation team this time. However, because he wrote about Su Haowei and was quite famous among folk readers, Wu Boxing valued him a little, and the relationship between the two was already very good along the way.

"Oh, Kunji." Wu Boxing shouted Cheng Dong's words and said, "The official heard that because of Su Hao's misdeeds. Runing Mansion is already a struggling livelihood, and the farmers are panicked all day long, and they have abandoned farming, but ......"

Wu Boxing's "but" did not continue, because of everything he saw in front of him. It has been proven that the so-called abandonment of farming by farmers is complete nonsense. Far and near, you can see everywhere the peasants who are busy with spring ploughing, perhaps because of the lack of animal power, some of the fields are ploughed by young and strong men, they are tired and sweaty, but their faces are full of joy.

That's not right. Didn't this Liu Qichang say that he would organize the landlords to strike the ploughing and put pressure on the Qincha? Along the way, the movement of the Qincha camp was not small, and the spies sent by Liu Qichang should also know when the Qincha arrived in Runing. How come it is that there is no sign of a stop at all? Wu Boxing muttered secretly in his heart, but these words obviously could not be said for everyone to hear.

"Uncle, are you busy?"

At this time. An old farmer carrying a shovel came on the official road, and Wang Xijue stepped forward. Greeted the old farmer.

The old peasant saw this group of people from a distance and knew that there were officials crossing the border. He had the intention to avoid it, but there was no way around, so he had to walk quickly with his head down, but he was stopped by someone. Hearing what the big official in front of him was asking himself, the old peasant hurriedly threw down his shovel and was about to kneel, but was stopped by Wang Xijue's entourage.

"The old man doesn't have to be polite, my lord is asking you." The attendant said to the old peasant.

"Oh, Xiaomin has saluted the master." The old peasant couldn't kneel anymore, so he could only stammer.

Wang Xijue said: "Old man, what are you doing here?" ”

The old farmer said: "Go back to the master, the small people will go to the fields." ”

"Is this year's spring ploughing different from previous years?" Wang Xijue wanted to know about the situation in Runing Mansion, but he didn't know how much he could know at the level of peasants, so he had to throw out a vague question and wait to hear the old peasant's answer.

A strange look crossed the old peasant's face, and he replied, "Uh...... This year, it's okay, it's okay. ”

"What does it mean to be okay? Could it be that it is really different compared to previous years? Wang Jiaping also came over, and he clearly heard that there were some things in the old farmer's words that he didn't say.

The old farmer asked strangely, "Aren't the old men from our Runing Mansion?" ”

Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping are both first-class officials, and the biggest official in Runing Mansion is also fourth-grade, and it can be seen from the color of their clothes that they are definitely not from Runing Mansion. But how can the old peasant understand this, there is no difference between the officials in the government and the officials in the capital in his opinion, so he asks such a question.

Wang Xijue said: "We are passers-by, I really don't know what is going on in Runing Mansion, can my husband tell us a little bit more?" ”

The old farmer waved his hand and said: "I am just a common man, how can I know anything, if the master has nothing to do, I will have to work." ”

The more he was like this, the more the officials felt that the taste was wrong, and Wu Boxing simply stepped forward and made it clear: "Uncle, I heard that a group of soldiers came to Runing Mansion, making the people's lives unbearable, is there such a thing?" ”

"Well...... This matter of the immortal fight, we ordinary people don't dare to get involved, ladies and gentlemen, you should go and ask others. The old farmer replied as he ran away in a panic.

"Look, scare the people like this, there must be something wrong with this." Wu Boxing said to Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping that he had to instill some unfavorable concepts in everyone before they arrived in Ruyang City.

"There are some peasants over there, I'll ask." Cheng Dong volunteered. After getting Wang Jiaping's permission, he ran along the ridge to a middle-aged farmer who was driving cattle to plough the field, and asked him about it.

I don't know what Cheng Dong said to the farmer, the farmer put down the plow and followed Cheng Dong to the official road. After kowtowing to the officials, the peasant asked, "Are you from the capital?" ”

"How do you know?" Wu Boxing asked rhetorically.

The peasant said: "We have spread the word here, saying that Lord Su has captured those black-hearted profiteers, and he wants to find the bad luck of those dog officials, who are so scared that they heard that they have all complained to the capital." Everyone is spreading that in the past few days, the capital should send a messenger to investigate the case, aren't you the one who investigates the case? ”

As soon as the farmer's words came out, Wu Boxing's face turned black all of a sudden, the other party was a profiteer, a dog official, and his attitude was already very clear, let him introduce the situation of Ru Ning to Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping, didn't he want to give Liu Qichang and them eye medicine?

Wang Xijue smiled hehehe, and he asked: "This brother, what do you mean, do you think that this Lord Su is a Qing official, and the other officials are dog officials?" ”

The peasant said: "Almost, Master Su wants us to live, and the other officials only care about making money for themselves, and don't care about the lives of our people." Just say that a few days ago, those dog officials colluded with our landlords, saying that they were going to do something to stop farming, and they would not farm the land this year. Ladies and gentlemen, if we farmers don't farm, what will we eat in the coming year? ”

"What do you mean?" Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping were stunned, this is not a trivial matter, if the whole mansion stops ploughing, there will be no grain to harvest in the autumn, and there will be a big mess.

The peasant said: "Those people don't want to embarrass Master Su yet, saying that they will embarrass Master Su when the Qin mission comes." The landlords in our county all colluded to prevent tenants from cultivating the land. Some people still have their own fields, and the landlords' dogs also come to make trouble, saying that whoever plows the fields can't get along with the prefect, and there is no good fruit to eat when they turn around. ”

"Nonsense!" Wu Boxing was in a hurry, of course he knew that what the peasants said was the truth, but how could such a thing be said to his face? If the matter of the strike can be done, then it will indeed bring great trouble to Su Hao, and even if it is out of the need to stabilize the place, Qin Cha will have to give in. But now that the matter has not been done, the rumor has leaked out and reached the ears of the Qin Cha, wouldn't it be even more serious for the crimes of Liu Qichang and others?

"This peasant farmer, in front of the elder, if there is no evidence, he can't talk nonsense, and he is falsely accused of sitting back, do you know." Wu Boxing frightened.

The farmer was obviously stunned, and when he heard Wu Boxing's words, he was not only frightened, but even more energetic: "This lord, you go to Sixiang and Eight Villages to inquire, is my Niu Lao Er a person who is talking nonsense?" A few days ago, because I insisted on plowing, I also had a fight with the family members of Master Jia's family, you see, the bruises on my arm were beaten by Master Jia's family. ”

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and showed everyone, and there were indeed a few bruises on his arms, and it seemed that the fight was quite strong.

"But aren't you plowing the field now? And when the officials saw the fields around here, they had already been ploughed. Wang Xijue said to Niu Lao Er, "Could it be that after you fought with that old man Jia's family, they allowed everyone to plow the fields?" ”

Niu Lao Er said: "How can it be so easy, there are many people in Master Jia's family, and there are also officials from the county government to support them, who dares to get along with them." If you want to say that everyone can plow, it is all thanks to Lord Su, who sent a soldier and a general, and what kind of notice was issued, saying that whoever destroys spring ploughing is ...... By the way, whoever is the public enemy of the whole people will be punished for it. The old men looked over there and saw that there was no one hanging from the tree, it was Master Jia. ”

"Ahh

All the officials were stunned, and everyone looked along Niu Laoer's fingers, and sure enough, they saw a person hanging from a rope on a big locust tree in the field, and the person was still swaying gently in the breeze.